My Kitchen Rules – Another Random Decision

by Reality Raver

It appears the judges appear to be courting controversy in the last couple of sudden death challenges. Sure fans can have their views swayed by the teams they like or dislike but did Bree and Jessica actually cook the best three course meal eliminating fan favourites Carly and Tresne from the show?

Carly and Tresne were told they had the dish of the day with their entree of Golden Scallops With Champagne Sabayon and Prosciutto Crumbs. Lucky for them the judges did not get the burnt ones. Their dessert of Raspberry Turkish Mousse was deemed “perfection”. So basically their main course let them down. Yes they mangled three beautiful pieces of Wagyu Beef and that was a travesty. Tresne at first undercooked it then overcooked it when she was searing the raw pieces. For those wondering why she did not serve it rare, Harry and Christo had the same issue with Wagyu and they were told the fat was still raw. Also it looked like it was thrown onto the plate. As Colin Fassnidge said “I think I am missing some meat”.

However Bree and Jessica did serve up raw chicken to some of the judges. Karen Martini was particularly scathing. However Guy Grossi managed to get a piece of well cooked Chicken Ballontine though he did say the skin was inedible. Also points should have been deducted for putting edible flowers on the plate but they were probably awarded extra marks for making a Quinoa and Lentil Salad. Their entree was seared prawns on Fennel and Leek Puree with a Capsicum sauce. Pete said it was simple and elegant. Their dessert Chocolate Mousse Cake also received outstanding reviews however their praline, which they ended up pulping, had most of the judges complaining it tasted like too sugary nuts.

The mum’s from Adelaide are better time managers in the kitchen and maybe the judges decided that at the pointy end of the competition they might have the skills to cope. It should be noted it took Carly over an hour of the first prep time to make what is a pretty simple mousse. For someone who is a Home Economics teacher it is her partner who is the better cook. Interesting the scores reflect that the judges disagreed who cooked the best meal.

Karen gave Bree and Jessica a 5, Guy scored a 7, Liz a 7, Colin a 6, Pete a 7 and Manu a 7 for a total of 39 out of 60.

Carly and Tresne scored a 7 from Guy, Karen a 6, Colin a 6, Liz a 6, Pete a 7 and Manu a 6 of 38 out of 60.

With one point in it Carly and Tresne were gone. In this interview in the SMH Carly and Tresne say coming out was not ideal and also they would only recommend going on the show to people they did not like.

Saunders said it was an exhausting yet rewarding experience but not something she would do again nor suggest to her friends.

“We went on the show to test our resilience and it definitely did that and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone I like,” Saunders said with a giggle.

“We are just pawns in the game, to be honest, and that’s why you never see me do endorsements for the show because we did have some very bad experiences.

“The good, though, far outweighs the bad.”

Saunders said filming the series was mentally draining because of the tight schedule and being, in effect, in lock-down until they were eliminated.

“You don’t see your family or anyone outside of the show, so (My Kitchen Rules) becomes your entire existence and the thought of it being taken away through elimination is really frightening,” she said.

Sounds use Stockholm Syndrome to ensure their reality contestants tow the line.

@bdd 42 – i was wondering the same thing about P&B getting picked by the judges to make sure the men would stay in.
i thought cathy and anna would have won since they didn’t have a single criticism and got ‘fine dining’ praise, whereas the boys were told their wontons could have been more crispy etc. but it makes more sense to keep the boys in the show than it does C&A.

Producers’ choice again…save the boys from 2 eliminations. Didn’t matter that the Lady of the Manor and her mean daughter were given high praise for their dish without any negative comments.

Teams were predictable….twins vs Cheshire and friend.

Were they told to cook small bites because those dishes almost seemed to be amuse-bouches?

JD’s watermelon with minced meat topping looked gross. Thalia and Bianca should have just served up very blue and bloody lamb and they would had a better chance winning the non-elimination reward. In addition, they shouldn’t have bothered baking the crisps, just serve up a scoop or two of raw dough or just serve it par-baked.

I was at the Cake, Bake & Sweets expo in Sydney the other week, and was interested to hear Rocco (Nic & Rocco duo) telling it how it is on the MKR set… Especially when he said their home visits were a nightmare and they weren’t allowed to choose their own menu. The producers told them what they were going to cook, as it makes for better television apparently, that way they’re cooking something they’re likely to stuff up!
And the judges eating all the meals cold and having to critique them after they’ve sat on a bench for 2 to 3 hours!
Not much integrity left in this show!

I think both teams deserved to go in the elimination. Raw chicken is the worse crime on a health level but in terms of crimes on good produce, as much as I like the team, Tresne’s was a lot worse. Just like Harry with his butchering of the wagyu, it appears as though they’ve never used it before. Not unexpected considering it would be in the value of hundreds of dollars (who has that kind of money for home meal?). Still at home, let alone in a commercial kitchen, surely one would weight the damning piece of meat and calculate the cooking time … not guess it!

I think it’s this disconnect between the unlimited budgets and using the best quality produce versus what most people would be able to really afford to use at home is one of the things that really shits me about this show.

Show me a couple who can cook awesome stuff with a cheap cut of meat any day over stuff most of us would rarely buy/cook with.